From Eroica with Love Vol. #05

What They SayThe fan-favorite spy saga continues! A sunken World War II relic holds the secrets Eroica, the Major, and a KGB agent desperately want. For Eroica and the gang, the prize will be riches beyond their wildest dreams. It's a mission of utmost importance (as usual) for the Major, but an old and vengeful nemesis, Mischa the Bear Cub, wants the secrets to destroy the Major - and the West!

The ReviewThe race is on to find Nazi Air Marshal Goering's lost artifacts buried in Alaska, but the contestants aren't just Major Eberbach and Earl Gloria. They also have the KGB, led by Mischa the Bear, to deal with; not to mention the FBI always getting in the way. Once the treasure is found, however, the true game begins as it becomes a battle of strategies and wits to get the priceless works of art and stolen money plates back "home".

Aoike Yasuko avoids having this playful comedy turn into a bunch of throwaway episodic bits by scripting a story that lasts the entire volume, as well as the chapters from the previous book. The stars of the manga are still the Major and the Earl, but with longer running storylines they become characters rather than tools for laughter and witty one-liners. There's also plenty of room to develop a secondary cast; namely Mischa the Bear, who becomes a shared antagonist between the Eberbach and Gloria.

The Cold War throwback setting is also a nice treat. I especially enjoyed the MiG-25 defection reference which closes out the book. A real defection of a Soviet MiG-25 pilot to Japan occurred in 1976. It would be a nice added bonus if CMX would include a page or two of historical notes for readers who maybe aren't familiar with these historical events.